Luke watched as the ants poured into the Safe Zone. He had faced a few before in the Wild Zone—tough, aggressive, but manageable. These were something else entirely. Not just larger. Wilder. Consumed by something beyond instinct. A pure, mindless fury that radiated from every step.

It's only been ten days since I came back… and there's already an invasion?

"Start evacuation!" someone shouted amid the chaos.

Around him, people bolted toward the hotel. The first tents were already collapsing. Stalls crumpled under the weight of slicing limbs and chitinous maws. But not everyone ran. Some stood their ground. Spears rose. Swords were drawn. Shields locked into place.

Angelica emerged from the smoke, breath ragged, bow already raised. "We need to find the leader of this swarm!" she shouted. "If we don't take it down, the Haven falls!"

Allison appeared beside Luke, her stance unshakable. He didn't hesitate. Ducking into a nearby tent, he sealed the flap behind him and summoned Charlie from the depths of his soul. When he emerged again, the streets had become a warzone. Panic and courage clashed with equal force, rippling through the crowd.

"I need a team to hold this flank!" Paul called out, raising his shield high above his head.

Anna and Cecília had already taken position, arrows nocked. More archers scrambled into place beside them. Mages joined them on rooftops and behind makeshift barricades, weaving spells with shaking hands and steel focus.

"Archers and mages, hold the lines!" Angelica commanded. "You're our best shot now!"

The ants broke through the palisade with terrifying ease, reducing the wooden defense to splinters. They surged into the main street, crashing over rooftops, tearing through buildings. A swarm. No formation. No pattern. Just overwhelming, crawling chaos.

Angelica's fighters advanced to meet them.

"We have to help," Allison said, already moving.

Luke followed. They vaulted over wreckage and broken carts until they reached higher ground. From the rooftops, he could see the full extent of the battle—volleys of arrows filling the sky, elemental spells twisting the air.

A wave of water rushed down the main street, washing over shattered wood and scorched stone. Moments later, lightning struck—channeled by mages positioned on the rooftops. The current leapt from puddle to puddle. Ants seized and collapsed mid-surge, their black exoskeletons still hissing with heat. But more kept coming. Dozens. Then hundreds.

Luke clenched his fists. They had to find the captain. Quickly. He tightened his grip on one kukri. Stamina surged through him, flooding the blade. He triggered the skill—Force Infusion. The weapon pulsed in his hand, dense and hungry, thrumming with potential.

He hurled it. The kukri spun through the air like a blade possessed. A devourer ant lunged into its path. The blade struck. Its head burst open, ichor spraying into the air.

[You have slain a Devourer Ant Soldier – Lvl 21]

Luke's breath caught. He'd tested the skill before. Trained with it. But never like this. Never with this much force behind it.

I just one-shotted something on par with an Orc Captain…?

No. That was the truth slapping him in the face. This hadn't been a captain. Just another foot soldier. The real captain—wherever it was—would be far stronger. Movement flickered across the rooftops. Charlie. She leapt from tile to tile like a phantom, trailing power in her wake. An arc of violence in skeletal form.

Luke recalled the kukri with a magnetic pulse, caught it in one hand, and dove into the swarm. Ants lunged. He danced between their jaws. Beside him, Charlie landed in the heart of the horde. She raised her head—and let the battlefield feel her fury. An invisible shockwave blasted outward. Her aura ignited. Battle Roar. The tide shifted. And the true fight began.

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Charlie lunged forward in a blur, both fists glowing with mana. Her [Spectral Charge] skill flared to life, and her hands, reinforced by [Steel Fists], became battering rams. She tore through the swarm in a straight line, sending bodies flying with each crushing blow.

Luke climbed the side of a collapsed structure, boots skidding against stone until he reached higher ground. From there, the chaos unfolded beneath him in brutal clarity—and revealed something far worse than insects.

Humans were fighting humans. Soldiers in Bastion armor clashed with another group wearing mismatched gear. Blades flashed. Magic tore through the air in arcs of fire and frost. Screams rose from both sides.

"They're the Renegades…" Luke muttered, narrowing his eyes. They had waited for a moment like this. The invasion was a perfect distraction. And now they'd unleashed their chaos once more.

A flicker of light flashed in his periphery—an interface notification:

*The [Pugilist] 2nd Class of Princess Charlie has reached Level 4! (Class Bonus Points Acquired)*

But he barely had time to process it. Something felt wrong. An ant lunged from below, mandibles wide. Luke reacted instinctively. He poured stamina into his blades, but instead of throwing them—he held on tight. Darkness pooled at his feet. He launched forward in a shadow-dash and drove the kukri straight through the ant's face.

[You have slain a Devourer Ant Soldier – Lvl 21]

He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a second ambush. Another ant crashed down beside him, jaws snapping shut. He countered with a savage strike, both blades carving into the armored exoskeleton. The ant shrieked and twisted, but Luke kept spinning—each step part of the Dance, every cut guided by memory and momentum.

With a flex of his legs and a burst of power from the Arachnid Leggings, he launched himself upward. His cloak caught the air and slowed his descent. Then he dropped—straight into the heart of a cluster—kukris flashing in arcs of dark steel.

Charlie appeared beside him again, plowing through enemies with relentless precision. But something shifted. Luke froze. His instincts screamed. He dove away just in time. An entire structure detonated in front of him, wooden beams and stone chunks scattering like shrapnel. Luke barely had time to dive aside. Heat. Dust. Splinters. Then—silence.

A silhouette emerged from the smoke—huge, upright, deliberate. It moved like it didn't need to rush. Like it knew it wouldn't lose. An ant. But not like the others. This one stood on two legs. Its crimson carapace gleamed like wet armor. Four arms flexed at its sides—two ending in jagged, curved blades. Its eyes weren't wild. They were focused. Calculating. A leader. A killer. A monster that knew exactly what it was doing.

[Devourer Ant (Beast Captain) – Lvl 30]

Luke exhaled once. "…Of course."

***

The ants came with fury. Marshall sprinted across the rooftops of the Safe Zone, every muscle wired with tension, every movement honed for speed. The wind bit at his face, carrying the stench of blood and burning wood. Sweat clung to his skin despite the cool night. He didn't have time to think—only run. Every impact of boot on rooftop echoed like a countdown.

He channeled stamina into his legs, leaping from one building to the next in a blur of motion. But they were gaining on him. Behind him, the creatures howled through the night, massive, armored, relentless. Their bodies shimmered with chitinous armor, jaws clacking like knives. Some crawled sideways across the walls like spiders; others bounded through the air, glowing eyes locked on their prey.

One surged ahead. Marshall twisted mid-air, drew the machete from his back, and brought it down in a clean, brutal arc. The ant split open, tumbling into the street below, limbs twitching in its death throes.

He clicked his tongue. "I wanted to do this closer to Bastion," he muttered. "But fine. We're inside the Safe Zone now. Doesn't matter."

Reaching into his pack, he lifted the red cocoon skyward, the Ant Queen's Daughter. The swarm froze. Dozens of monstrous heads snapped toward the pulsing object, mesmerized by its glow.

"This is what you want?"

Without another word, he hurled it high. His crossbow was already in hand, loaded, aimed. He fired. The bolt hit dead center. A burst of red light tore through the night. The cocoon vanished in a flash, vaporized.

[You have slain an Ant Queen's Daughter – Lvl 0]

For a heartbeat, silence held. Then, far in the distance, a guttural roar split the air. Not a sound of pain, a declaration. The Queen had felt it. The swarm changed instantly. Eyes burned with crimson fire. It was like a pulse had gone out—hatred made manifest. The air itself felt heavier, electric. Their focus snapped from chase to carnage, rage boiling out of them like steam from a cracked engine.

Rage overtook instinct. Destruction replaced purpose. The ants turned feral. They tore through everything, ripping up streets, demolishing walls, crushing tents, carts, and anyone in their path. It wasn't a battle. It was annihilation. And Marshall was already gone.

He moved without hesitation, vaulting over rooftops, cutting down anything that crossed his path. He didn't need to look back. He knew what he had done. The Queen wouldn't stop. Not now. Not until the last soul inside the Safe Zone was dead. And as he ran, a smile crept across his face.

"Now," he said, eyes locked on the horizon, "I'm going to kill that bastard Bartholomew."

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